GUERNSEY’S economy has turned a corner with the return of inflation.

RPIX – the States’ preferred measure of inflation – it ignores mortgage rates – came in at 2.9% at the end of the last quarter.

RPI, the traditional core measure that includes mortgage rates, was 2.2%, which was higher than the States expected.

Chamber of Commerce President Paul Luxon (pictured) hailed that as a revival.

‘It is a recovery from the extraordinary low figures we saw last year as a result of the global financial crash,’ he said.

Mr Luxon said the shift was anticipated but added that the change in figures over the quarter had been ‘quite a jump’.

States economist Dr Andy Sloan explained: ‘Negative levels were caused by the extraordinary movements in bank base rates of the previous year, which saw rates drop from 5.5% to 0.5% in a matter of months. That effect has now more or less dropped out and so we see the return of positive rates.’

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